A Reason To Live (Marty Singer #1) by Matthew Iden @CrimeRighter ~ Crime fiction #bookreview

• Author: Matthew Iden
• Published: Reissued September 2015 by Thomas & Mercer
• Category: Crime, Thriller, Suspense
• 

In the late nineties, a bad cop killed a good woman and DC Homicide detective Marty Singer watched the murderer walk out of the courtroom a free man. 

It’s a case that retired detective Marty Singer has never been able to put out of his mind completely – the murder of Brenda Lane by Michael Wheeler. Wheeler was a police officer with the same force as Marty and the crime left Brenda’s young daughter an orphan. Wheeler was found not guilty, even though his story didn’t add up. 

Twelve years later, Marty is feeling weary and apathetic having been diagnosed with cancer, which precipitated his retirement. He is about to begin chemotherapy treatment when Brenda’s daughter, Amanda, who was twelve years old at the time of her mother’s murder, seeks him out. She believes Michael Wheeler is back and is targeting her.

I was killing time at a coffee shop, slouched in an overstuffed chair that had been beaten into submission years earlier. The café – I don’t know the name, Middle Grounds or Mean Bean or something precious – was a grungy, brown stain of a place flanked by a failing Cajun restaurant on one side and a check-cashing store on the other. A crowd of Hispanic guys hung around out front looking simultaneously aimless and expectant, hoping their next job was about to pull up to the curb.

Amanda’s situation gives Marty a much-needed incentive to try and right a wrong and get justice for both Amanda and her mother, giving him ‘a reason to live.’ Marty has missed being a cop and, although his investigative resources are now limited, he reconnects with his old partner, Jim Kransky, who also believed Wheeler should have been found guilty.

Marty is the narrator and a great lead character, I love how he’s portrayed and developed. His struggle is different to the usual flawed police officer and gives Marty depth and humanity without overplaying the disease angle. It’s a realistic representation and gives Marty a vulnerability which is endearing. It’s a nice change to have a lead character who is more down to earth and relatable. 

The secondary characters are well defined and the excerpts from the mind of the antagonist added a little extra. Excellent writing infused with feeling and clear imagery and a well thought out plot that kept me guessing until the author chose to reveal the outcome. I listened to Matthew Iden’s short story The Kindness of Neighbours a while ago and loved it. A Reason to Live is his debut novel and the first in a series I plan on following. 

Book links ~ Amazon UK | US

About Matthew Iden

Matthew Iden writes fantasy, science fiction, horror, thrillers, crime fiction, and contemporary literary fiction with a psychological twist. 

An eclectic resume–he’s held jobs with the US Postal Service, international non-profit groups, a short stint with the Forest Service in Sitka, Alaska and time with the globe-spanning Semester at Sea program–has given him inspiration for short stories and novel ideas, while trips to Iceland, Patagonia, and Antarctica haven’t hurt in the creative juices department, either. A post-graduate education in English Literature wasn’t necessary, but it helped define what he didn’t want to do with his life and let him read a great deal of good books.

Please visit him on the web at matthew-iden.com, Tweet @CrimeRighter, or find him on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/matthew.iden. 

Matthew lives in Alexandria, Virginia.